Mars One claims project "serious" on soaring doubts

THE HAGUE, May 21 (Xinhua) -- While more and more doubts are raised in China about the so-called one-way project "Mars One", the Dutch organization said Tuesday in a statement its plan is "ambitious" and "serious."

Mars One, a non-profit company, said it "is committed to landing the first human crew on Mars in 2023." While claiming it has more than ten thousand Chinese applicants by now, the company are receiving more and more doubts from China.

Saying on one hand that "there never are any guarantees on timelines of projects of this scale" and admitting the plan is "complex and ambitious," the statement alleged at the same time that "it is feasible by putting together the technology that exists today, available from the booming global private space industry."

The company also claims in the statement Mars One as "a serious space mission" defying soaring Chinese doubts, which many believed to be a "hoax" or a "commercial fraud."

Many experts said at a professional meeting held in U.S. recently that there will be huge challenges both in technical and financial field.

According to a recent poll, 71 percent of Americans believe that the dream to move on Mars could only come true in 2033.